Man City 2 - Man United 3: Big Match Report

(Courtesy of Gene Hunt - Flickr)

There is obviously no way of telling just how important this result from the Etihad could be in 6 months’ time when the season will be coming to a close but Manchester United will be feeling pretty pleased with themselves right about now. Manchester City on the other hand, while this was a big blow, might not be too concerned by the 6 point gap, or the performance in Sunday’s game. After all, we saw only last year how quickly a title race can change, and change again, in a very short space of time and there is no doubt that this will not be the last dramatic twist in the race for the title. However, we can be sure that if the Citizens fail to reclaim the title then they will look back at Robin Van Persie’s deflected free-kick as a key 3-point difference.

There was a big talking point before the game had even started, namely the inclusion of Italian enigma Mario Balotelli, which many will point to as an unnecessary gamble for City manager Mancini to have taken. They might be right; Tevez, who was consequently left out of the starting line-up, has been performing well all season and would have no doubt loved an opportunity to start against his former employers. On the other hand Mario thrives on the big stage and so this was not as stupid a decision as people are making it out to be. As it happened Balotelli did not repay Mancini’s leap of faith. After just 5 minutes Balotelli hit a distinctly average free-kick along the floor which was saved comfortably by De Gea in the United goal and 7 minutes later when David Silva and Gael Clichy combined to set Mario up in the box the Italian could do nothing but smash the ball some 20 metres over the bar. This attack seemed to sum up City’s early pressure, they were certainly in control but the clinical air with which they dispatched United in the first meeting of last season had deserted them. Either shots were too weak or final balls, such as that of Balotelli to Aguero after 15 minutes, were not quite right. After Aguero had miscontrolled the aforementioned pass De Gea collected the ball and gave it to Evra who played the ball forward for young to play a one-two with Robin Van Persie and then run into the City half. Despite the fact that there were four blue defenders there Young and Rooney seemed to have as much time as they needed. Young played the ball square to Rooney who made some space for a shot which he then scuffed into the bottom corner past Joe Hart. This directional change was clearly Rooney’s intention had he got the shot right, and so wrong-footed was Joe Hart by Rooney’s change of direction that there was nothing the England no.1 could do but to watch the ball trickle into the back of the net. 

Wayne Rooney had a storming first half
(Courtesy of nasmac - flickr)

Despite having been on the back foot  for the entirety of the game up until now, the combination of this goal and Vincent Kompany’s substitution due to injury gave United some life. Suddenly the game was very even, with City needing to attack even more to try and get a goal back and United looking for a second. The next chance fell to Sergio Aguero, who seemed to be channeling the spirit of his compatriot Carlos Tevez from the bench. The Argentinean went on a very Tevez-like run, taking the ball past 6 United defenders combining skill, strength and a touch of fortune to put himself in a position where he really should have scored. Perhaps he was affect by having seen Rooney’s shot roll slowly into the net or perhaps he lost his nerve but all Aguero could manage was a lame side-footed effort which David De Gea was grateful to receive. It was the speed of United’s attack that was again a problem for City when, after 29 minutes, Rooney doubled his tally and United’s lead; there were 7 touches from Michael Carrick on the half-way line to the ball being in the back of the City net. Valencia and Rafael combined on the right wing, where Gael Clichy was found desperately wanting when he didn’t close down Valencia or track Rafael’s overlap, to set Rooney up to finish from 8 yards out to get his 150th league goal at the age of only 27. City, however, did not collapse like United did last season, the crowd roaring them on to do something about the travesty that they were witnessing. The attacking momentum still remained, on the whole, with the home side and with only 3 minutes left in the first half David Silva was again involved when he and Mario Balotelli played a neat interchange to set up Gareth Barry on the edge of the box. Barry is not known for his finishing prowess and showed why by fluffing his left-footed shot wide of the right-hand post.

Just 3 minutes after half time the City fans were baying for blood when an ill-advised back-heel from Mario Balotelli saw him waste possession yet again. It evidently stirred some anger in Roberto Mancini who instantly turned to the bench to tell Tevez to start warming up. After just 52 minutes Mancini cut his losses and accepted that his gamble had not paid off and Carlos Tevez was introduced in place of Mario Balotelli. Mancini didn’t even look at the Italian striker as he stormed off the pitch and straight down the tunnel fuelling rumours that he might be leaving the Etihad as early as the January transfer window with Italian suitors waiting in the wings. United will definitely feel that they were robbed of a third goal when, after 57 minutes, Robin Van Persie used some neat trickery to give himself some space in the City box to fire a right-footed shot against Joe Hart’s goal frame, the ball bounced out to Ashley Young who slotted the ball into an open net from 6 yards out only to see his goal ruled out for offside. Replays show that, although he was ahead of his two markers Kolo Toure and Nastasic, Young was clearly being played onside by Pablo Zabaleta on the far side of the box. A difficult decision for the linesman to get right and fortunately one that, because of the result, will be forgotten. The introduction of Tevez had a massive impact on the home side and made things look a lot brighter for City. The spate with manager Mancini a thing of the past, Tevez is once again a much loved figure in the blue half of Manchester and he showed us all why. On the hour mark he picked the ball up inside the United half and played a neat one-two with Aguero on the right wing and smashed a shot which was well saved by De Gea. The danger was not gone however and first David Silva and again Tevez had shots blocked and saved before Tevez laid the ball back for Yaya Toure to pass the ball calmly into De Gea’s net. 

Tevez made a huge difference when he came on
(Courtesy of Alfonso Jiminez - Flickr)

At 2-1 down Manchester City really started to go for it and this naturally left holes at the back. One United attack saw Robin Van Persie send a free header over the bar from a Tom Cleverley cross, not the easiest chance ever but you would expect Robin Van Persie to at least get it on target from such a good position. City had their chances as well, David De Gea’s shoulder and the bar the only things standing between David Silva and a City equaliser until finally, with only 4 minutes of normal time left the home side got their reward. A Carlos Tevez corner was half cleared by a Robin Van Persie header to Pablo Zabaleta on the edge of the box who needed no invitation to smash a first time shot beyond all the United defenders and a helpless David De Gea to level the scores. When Mark Clattenburg put his fourth official’s board up you felt like this game had not given us it’s last entertainment and we were not disappointed. It all started when Gael Clichy, stupidly, tried to play his way out of his defensive third and was dispossessed by Danny Welbeck, and from the resulting United possession Rafael was fouled about 25 yards from the Manchester City goal. The positioning was almost perfect for a left-footer and so Robin Van Persie stepped up. The Dutchman’s initial free kick was almost certainly not going to beat Hart in the City goal but a deflection off the leg of Samir Nasri wrong footed the English keeper and sent the ball flying past him and into the net off the foot of the post to give United the win in the second minute of added time.

Unfortunately a City fan threw a coin at Rio Ferdinand during the celebrations for the third United goal when he was celebrating in front of his own fans. You can argue that players shouldn’t provoke opposing fans but Ferdinand was celebrating in front of the United section which makes the actions of those responsible even more reprehensible. This is something which seems to happen at every ground when tensions are running high and thankfully 9 arrests have been made which will hopefully deter fans from doing it in the future.

So often big games, and titles, are decided by the smallest of margins and it seemed almost as if Van Persie’s free kick would not have gone in any way other than off Nasri’s shin and an inch inside the post. You can hardly argue that this game was anything other than completely even. You can look at possession statistics or shots on goal, which the home side had the better of, or a goal ruled offside, which United would have felt rightly aggrieved about had they not come away with all three points, but at the end of the day this was a match which could have easily gone either way. As it was, Wayne Rooney’s clichéd assertion that “we never know when we’re beaten” rang true and United have come away with a massive win which sees them 6 points clear at the top of the table. City are far from a beaten side though, their performance will come as some comfort to them and the manner of the defeat will only spur them on to do everything they can to retain the league title.